1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for entering a character sequence consisting of one or more characters into an electronic device, this device also comprising keys for entering keystrokes by a user as well a display panel for presenting information to the user, wherein a group of characters is presented on the display panel in the form of a matrix composed of rows and columns, wherein at least one specific character can be pointed out by means of a cursor which is movable through said matrix, and wherein the character sequence is constructed by pointing out consecutive characters in the sequence one by one by means of the cursor and entering the character in question by means of a keystroke.
The invention furthermore relates to an electronic device, for example, a portable telephone, which also comprises keys which enable a user to enter keystrokes, as well as a display panel for presenting information to the user, this device being suitable for entering a character sequence composed of one or more successive characters in accordance with the method according to the invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a method and electronic device are disclosed, for example, in International Patent Application Publication No. WO 97/35413, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,070, which presents a mobile telephone comprising a display panel on which the digits 0–9 are presented in the form of a matrix consisting of two rows and five columns. A cursor can be moved through said matrix by means of four keys for the purpose of pointing out a particular digit, this digit then being entered by another keystroke. In this way, the user can enter a sequence of digits which forms, for example, a telephone number.
Although the number of keys in such an electronic device can be considerably reduced, the user needs to move the cursor through the matrix in order to enter a telephone number, and this movement of the cursor requires a substantial number of keystrokes.
Although the number of digits involved in the entering of numbers and figures, for example, for telephone numbers, is limited to ten, and the number of keystrokes also remains limited, the method according to the above-noted WO 97/35413, is not very suitable for entering a character sequence consisting of alphanumeric characters. In such an application, the matrix will be composed of at least the twenty-six letters of the alphabet plus the digits 0–9, which gives a 6×6 matrix, as a consequence of which, numerous keystrokes are required for moving the cursor through said extensive matrix.